Bit chilly out, isn’t it? If you’re still running about in flip-flops and short sleeves then a) You’re mental and b) take a look at the calendar, it’s the middle of October! Global warming may be jumbling up the seasons like a misguided game of drunken Twister, but winter’s definitely kicking in now. If the change in weather has caught …

Words like ‘dapper’, ‘gentleman’ and ‘tailored’ spring to mind when looking at the Alexander McQueen Autumn/Winter 2012 collection. But then there is also ‘avant-garde’ and ‘unique’. Either way, the collection oozes of Britishness with a twist

I absolutely love the latest collection from the British fashion house Alexander McQueen. Overall they have created a minimal but elegant collection. A few of my favourite pieces include the beautiful Prince of Wales check suit, the Fair Isle Jacquard knit button-up, and a cashmere turtle neck featuring the McQueen skull on the front. They also have a few more …

It’s been an afternoon of shock and sorrow as the news that Alexander McQueen has been found dead at at an address in Green Street, Central London filters through the grapevine. His death is not being treated as suspicious. The British fashion designer, known for his outrageous and extraordinary designs, and who won the British Designer of the Year four …

It seems in fashion we always want to be at the next destination, now. So it is that we haven’t even hit August yet and some of us are already thinking ahead to what to wear in the fall. Of course, the fact that collections are shown out of sync with actual seasons doesn’t help. An extreme example I’m faced with is wanting ALL of the McQueen shoe collection from S/S10 right now.

Selectism.com have been giving sneak previews of the McQueen S/S10 shoe collection, those paint splattered lovelies, which will apparently also be available as trainers. Picking up on the folk-art patchwork and paint splattering seen in his recent film-presentation-as-show in Milan, the trainers seen here feature both of these themes as gorgeous detailing. Patience is, I guess, a virtue but in the wicked world of fashion it is sorely tested.

Winter is often a season of necessity versus beauty. Unless one has enough in his wallet to buy a piece like this Alexander McQueen (a cool £1,095,) fashionistos are left to settle for cheap and not always stylish alternatives. The gilet (or body-warmer) is a fickle fashion item and this season it has been made-up in enticing chambray by label Wings + Horns.

Gilets often look awful; after all, the Michelin Man-look has never suited anyone. However, when worn over-sized and unzipped with skinny jeans and leather brogues, your padded-tube of fabric becomes the key component of a high-fashion look.

I would say ‘Yay’ to the idea of a gilet- simply follow Brandish’s style advice and you’ll be looking awesome anyway!

Alexander McQueen‘s menswear collections get more and more interesting by the season. This latest show was a clear departure in mood from his last show, ‘The Queensberry Rules’.

There was still a menacing undercurrent, with vibes of tortured artist coming through, but the overall atmosphere was that of a more feminine creativity. McQueen’s traditional rustic tailoring the look reminded me of some of the Italian workmen that the Sartorialist sometimes snaps.

The Spring Summer issue of Numéro Homme is out, and for the non-francophones among us they kindly include an English translation of all the interviews at the back of the mag.

Philip Utz spoke to Alexander McQueen who, with typical forthrightness called Utz up on his interview skills, called fashion journalism a “thinly-veiled exercise in marketing” and then proclaimed that “the British Fashion Council doesn’t know what the fuck it’s doing.”

OK, so with arm candy of no less than Agyness Deyn, Mr Hammond clearly has taste. But a Google image search of his not-so-long-ago persona in The Strokes shows the frizzy-haired rocker as no great shakes in the business of sartorialism. These days however he’s looking quite fine.

Alice Olins of The Times newspaper has just released a quick summary of the major menswear shows so far at Milan’s Menswear Fashion Week and with insider details and little snippets of useful information, her reports are a great read.

The standout show at Pitti Uomo was, in my mind, Alexander McQueen’s “The McQueensberry Rules”. Where most Milan designers literally translated the gloom of the economic crisis McQueen added a murderous glint to the proceedings with aristocratic eleagance and a glossy nostalgia for a pre-Thatcherite Britain.

It’s rare that a Christmas episode of Top of the Pops sheds light on a new sartorial trend but the most recent festive programme featured Kaiser Chiefs’ singer Ricky Wilson sporting a vintage brooch on his lapel.

This outfit is based around my fashion task de jour (as if I could make that sound any more pretentious!) That task would be to make tasselled loafers wearable while avoiding the Ralph Lauren, polo-player trap so closely associated with this (in)famous yet iconic shoe.

I feel like a horrible, disgusting sorry excuse for a fashion follower. Why am I bound by such emotional wounds? Why do I feel so sick-minded and wrong?

Answer: I want an invitation to Fake Karl’s closet. Yes, it’s true! I, Will Reid, couldn’t think of anything this week that could be desired more than a day of hanging upside down with Anna and Karl sipping our “respective drinks.”

Wallace poses in a Paul Smith suit and Gromit sits with a Duchamp scarf and pair of Ray Ban ‘Wayfarers.’

Zooey Deschanel, Agy Deyn, Irina Lazareanu, Vanessa Paradis; the fashion world is known for it’s adopting of a different muse for each different season. However, while most muses can be linked by their quirky style, elfin features and statement look, Wallace & Gromit really stand out from the crowd.

While potentially worrying and probably not at all a good sign, Andy Warhol’s ‘Death Scenes’ have always interested me. His principle was that by repeating the same image of a man impaled on a lamp-post (that’s just one of the prints,) death became strangely banal. This blazer might not be all blood ‘n’ guts (which with McQueen’s history is rather surprising,) but it is undeniably interesting. With city scenes and a fitted shape, this jacket could be worn at work, in the park, at a party and even to a music festival. I like that Matches put it with jeans for a modern edge and if I could afford the £258 price tag, I would go for a crisp white shirt and an Alber Elbaz-style floppy bow-tie. In faded, purple velvet. *Sigh*